Leading Church of Ireland officials held talks with members of Portadown Orange Order and representatives from the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition, led by Mr Breandan Mac Cionnaith, on Saturday, to try to break the Drumcree parade impasse. Archdeacon Raymond Hoey, from Bessbrook, who chaired the meetings, said the committee was having wide-ranging consultations and he hoped that with "a large degree of goodwill a satisfactory solution could soon be found".
An Orange Order spokesman later described the meeting with church officials as "full and frank". But Orangemen reiterated the right of the Portadown Orange lodge to march through Garvaghy Road, and complete "its traditional route".
A similar meeting took place shortly before Christmas, and the talks follow hopes that proximity talks between the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition and Portadown Orangemen would begin again soon.